Automatic waterer

ABSTRACT

An automatic waterer which utilizes a self closing valve which is vertically installed and in which spring and hydraulic pressure work to seat the valve and in which a pivoted beam which utilizes a weight of substantial mass at one end and which carries a drinking bowl on the other end is provided. As animals drink from the bowl the mass overcomes the weight of the liquid in the bowl and lowers the beam on the valve actuator so as to replenish the liquid supply in the bowl thus rebalancing the beam and allowing the valve actuator to return to the closed position.

[ Mar. 21, 1972 United States Patent McKinstry 19/81 X McKinstry19/31 X77 56 99 H 26 54 53 74 2 23 a w .m s M w R m d a R m m S E .m T m A M wn C s I m T a A d mm H U w A .m M m U U [73] Assignee: NelsonManufacturing Company, Cedar Primary m g R-chamblee Rapids, IowaAttorney--15, Sherman, Meroni, Gross 8-: Simpson [57] ABSTRACT Anautomatic waterer which utilizes a self closing valve which isvertically installed and in which spring and hydraulic pressure work toseat the valve and in which a pivoted beam which utilizes a weight ofsubstantial mass at one end and which car- 21 App]. No:

52 user...

[51] lnt.C1...........

Fiem of Search ries a drinking bowl on the other end is provided. Asanimals drink from the bowl the mass overcomes the weight of theReferences Cited llqllld in the bowl and lowers the beam on the valveactuator so as to replenish the liquid supply 111 the bowl thusrebalancing the beam and allowing the valve actuator to return to theclosed position.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 8 O M 7 3 l.

386,752 7/1888 153,000 7/1874 Kelly.........

//////A /wt AUTOMATIC WATERER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of theInvention This invention relates in general to waterers for animals andin particular to a waterer with positive control which is safe and quietand dependable and may easily be sterilized.

2. Description of the Prior Art There have been numerous waterers foranimals in the prior art. Certain ones utilize floating type bowls suchas disclosed in the US. Pat. to Nelson No. 2,664,070 and McKinstry No.3,324,834. These systems utilize the buoyance of a drinking bowl to openand close a valve as liquid is removed from the bowl.

Other waterers have utilized the weight of the water, external springsor floats to shut off a valve but these devices have proved to besusceptible to variations of water pressure both in the opening andclosing of the valve. In such devices hydraulic shock in the watersupply can cause the valves to leak and this oftentimes happens withlong water supply lines which are connected to devices remote from thewater source. Small and large animals are often temporarily orpermanently housed in confined quarters inside buildings and presentlyavailable watering devices are not reliable, are noisy in operations,difficult to clean, not easily shut off and are difficult to control thelevel of water in the drinking trough. Many animals in confined quarterssuch as horses are highly nervous and it is desirable to have anautomatic watering device that does not startle them when the valveoperates. Float control valves and others that modulate tend to be noisyin operation. Because of their design it is difficult to control thestream of water discharging from the valves and therefor impossible toeliminate the splash noise that results. This causes the nervous animalsto be excited and upset which is undesirable.

Under todays livestock raising conditions owners as well as researchscientists desire that sanitary watering devices which can be easily andthoroughly cleaned and in some cases sterilized be available.Commercially available waterers are constructed so that it is difficultif not impossible to thoroughly clean them and impossible to sterilizethem. These devices are made with castings, welds, crevices, floats,valves, heaters, mud guards, corks or stoppers, pipe threads and thelike which have portions where bacteria can breed and thereby transmitdisease from one animal user to another. This is very undesirablefeature of presently available watering devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an automaticwaterer which operates very quietly, has very positive control of theliquid level and may be easily cleaned or sterilized. At times when thewater should not be available to the animals for reasons of health orresearch the present invention allows the water to be quickly and easilyshut off. For example if medication is to be given to the animal it maybe placed in the waterer of the invention with the input water shut off,so that the water may be totally consumed by the animal.

The present invention utilizes a self closing valve which is installedvertically and in which both spring and hydraulic pressure operate toseat the valve making it much more reliable than valves previously used.High pressure in the water line will not cause the valve to leak and itis unaffected by hydraulic shock. Although the valve could be operatedin any position about the pivotal axis with the valve actuator up, downor horizontal the preferred embodiment utilizes the valve actuator inthe up position so that any foreign matter entering the water will havethe least chance of interfering with the valve operations when on, thevalve will be uniform.

A pivoted beam with a weight of substantial. mass is mounted in thewaterer and the valve actuator is mounted so that a positive force isprovided on the valve actuator to open the valve when water is removedfrom the drinking bowl. The weight of substantial mass is used ratherthan floats, springs, or the hydraulic force of the water, and thisrenders the present waterer much more reliable than other watererspresently available. The weight of substantial mass forces the valveopen against the force of the valve spring and hydraulic pressure to aposition which is adjustable thereby controlling the rate of water inflow. This allows splash noise to be minimized from the water enteringthe bowl and the rate of filing is independent of the rate of removal ofwater from the bowl. Once the valve is open, the effect of hydraulicpressure becomes negligible and a substantial positive moment about thepivot point of the beam (created by the weight) holds the valve open.Thus the undesirable modulating valve condition which creates noise andvibration and is inherent in other designs has been eliminated. Thevalve is closed by the force of a valve spring (independent of thehydraulic force) after the weight of the water entering the drinkingbowl has balanced the balance beam system. The inertia of the rotatingmass pivots the balance beam through the balance point thereby providinga smooth closing of the valve again eliminating undesired modulating ofthe valve and removes all external forces from the valve. The valve isheld closed by hydraulic force as well as the valve spring. Since theclosing of the valve is independent of the water pressure, the pan orbowl always contains the same weight of water (and therefor the samelevel of water) when the valve closes.

The present invention allows easy cleaning and sterilizing of thedrinking bowl as well as having a smooth and easy to clean externalconstruction which minimizes the accumulation of contaminants.

A protective top cover may be removed and a manual lock is provided tolock the valve in a closed position. This lock may also be automatic ifdesired on removal of the cover.

The drinking bowl can then be lifted from the waterer, emptied, cleanedand sterilized. The present invention allows the waterer to be quicklyand easily cleaned and sterilized and the bowl may be made from a smoothmaterial which allows easy cleaning and sterilization. Conventionalprior art drinking devices are generally constructed of rough castingsand are difficult or impossible to clean or sterilize. Also floats,immersion heaters and the like prevent removal of the drinking trough asin the present design.

The supply valve may be locked with the drinking bowl empty but in placeor locked closed with the bowl containing water, as for example whenmedication is to be supplied to an animal and the animal is to consumeall of the water.

Other objects features and advantages of the invention will be readilyapparent from the following description of certain preferred embodimentsthereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, althoughvariations and modifications may be effected without departing from thespirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure, and in whichBRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of theautomatic waterer of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the automatic waterer of this invention with thedrinking bowl removed;

FIG. 3 is a partial cut away sectional view illustrating the valvelocking device of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view to the valve and valve actuator, and

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view of the beam adjusting screw of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrategenerally cylindrical housing 11 that might be made of stainless steelor other material which is easily cleaned and which is insulated by asuitable cylindrical insulator 12 attached to its inner surface. A cover13 which might be of rust proof cast aluminum is attached to the housing11 by cam locks and a latch and has a mating portion 14 that mates withthe upper edge 16 of the housing 11. A downwardly extending portion ofthe cover 17 extends over the upper edge of the drinking bowl 81. Asbest shown in FIG. 3 the cover 13 is detachably connected to the housing11 by a cam plate 18 which is attached to the cover 13 by suitableholding means 19 and which is formed with a housing 11 as the cover isrotated. A latch 23 is pivotally connected to the housing by pivot pin24 and is spring biased by a spring 28 upwardly relative to FIG. 3. Alatch release pin 26 extends through a slot 27 in the housing 11 and maybe depressed to allow the cover 13 to be rotated so that the slot 21moves out of engagement with the member 22. It is to be realized thatthere are a pair of cams 18 on opposite sides of the cover 13 andcorresponding members 22 which the slots 21 engage. Only a single one ofthe cams 18 is illustrated since the other one is the same. Only asingle latch 23 is required to lock the cover to the housing.

It is to be particularly noted that the latch pin 26 extends only ashort distance from the housing 1 l and although it may be easilyactuated by a person it may not be actuated by an animal accidentally.

A support frame structure 47 extends across the housing 1 l and has asupport plate 52 which is formed into a channel with opposite upwardlyextending sides 56 as shown in section in FIG. 1. A balance beamstructure comprises a channel member 39 which has downwardly extendingsides 51 and which is pivotally supported by the channel 52 by a pivotpin 53 so that the beam 39 may pivot about the pin 53. A bowl supportingstructure comprising three radially extending members 36, 36 and 38 areattached to the beam 39 and carry a ring 40 at their upper ends intowhich the bowl 81 is received. A bracket 43 is adjustably attached toone end of the balance beam 39 by an adjusting screw 44 which isreceived in a slot 46 that allows the bracket 43 to be adjusted relativeto the beam. A weight of substantial mass 42 is connected to the bracket43. The beam 39 has a limit adjusting screw 54 as best shown in thedetailed view of FIG. which has a lower end that engages the framemember 52 so as to limit the rotation of the balance beam 39 relative tothe frame member 52. A valve structure 61 is attached to the framemember 52 and has an upwardly extending valve actuator 67 that has anupper end 71 that engages a valve actuating screw 78 that is threadedlymounted in the pivot beam 39 as shown in FIG. 1. The screw 78 may beadjusted vertically relative to FIG. 1 so as to adjust the throw of thevalve actuator 67.

The valve 61 is attached to the frame member 52 and is shown in detailin FIG. 4. The valve has an input orifice 62 which communicates with avalve chamber 64 below the orifree 62. A valve 66 is held against avalve seat 60 by a spring 72 and has the upwardly extending valveactuator 67 which extends from the valve. A groove is formed in thevalve actuator 67 and carries an O-ring seal 68. An output orifice 63 isprovided in the valve 61. The upper portion of the valve 69 is threadedso that it may be threadedly attached to the frame member 52 so that theactuator portion 71 extends above the valve and may be engaged by thebolt 78 when the balance beam moves counterclockwise relative to FIG. 1.

An outlet pipe 76 is received in the outlet orifice 63 and extendsupwardly and has a down portion 77 for supplying liquid to the bowl 81.

An input pipe 73 is connected to the input orifice 62 of the valve andis connected to an on-off valve 74 which has a handle 92 for turning thevalve 74 off. An input water supply line 91 is connected to the valve74.

An on-off latch 29 is pivotally supported by the pin 24 in the wall ofhousing 11 and has a handle 34 for moving the latch to a position suchthat the lower end of the latch 31 engages a projection 33 of a member32 which is connected to the upwardly extending member 36 as shown inFIG. 1. If desired the latch 29 may be spring loaded so it moves to thelocked position when the cover 13 is removed so that the valve canautomatically be held in the off position when the cover 13 is removed.

An electric junction box 83 may be connected to a suitable power sourceand has an output lead 86 which is connected to a suitable heater 87attached to the frame member 47 for heating the water in bowl 81 so itwill not freeze. A thermostat 84 senses the temperature within thehousing 11 and controls the application of power to the heater 87.

Four hold down lugs 101 are connected to the housing 11 to allow thewaterer of the invention to be connected to a suitable base by holdingmeans 102.

It is to be noted that the pivot point determined by shaft 53 is betweenthe support point of the bowl and the valve actuator 67 so that as thebowl is emptied to allow the balance beam to tip, the actuator 67 willbe depressed to open valve 66.

In operation the waterer of the invention is installed as for example bymounting it on a poured concrete base or block or by mounting it on asuitable bracket which is adapted to receive holding means 102 whichextend through the brackets 101 of the waterer. The externalconstruction of the waterer is smooth and lends itself to easy cleaningand maintenance.

The inlet water line 91 is connected to the valve 74 and the valve 74 isopen by turning the handle 92. Power is connected to the junction box 83to provide power for the heater 87.

The cover 13 is removed by depressing the latch 23 by moving the pin 26in the slot 27 so that the pin 26 disengages the cam 18 so that thecover member 18 may be moved to the left relative to FIG. 3 so that theslot 21 disengages the member 22. The cover may then be lifted from thewaterer and the bowl may be placed into the waterer. The latch 29 may bemoved to hold the pivot beam 39 in the positions so that the bolt 78does not engage the valve actuator 71 to turn the water on. The weight42 is adjusted relative to the balance beam 39 with the set screw 44 andthe movement between the balance beam 39 and the frame 52 may beadjusted by setting the screw 54 as shown in FIG. 5. The bowl 81 isplaced in the ring 40 of the balance beam 39 and the latch 29 is movedto the unlocked position and the cover 13 is placed on the waterer suchthat the cam 18 engages the portion 22 and the latch 23 moves so thatthe pin 26 locks the cam 18 into engagement with the portion 22.

The weight 42 will cause the balance beam 39 to move counterclockwiserelative to FIG. 1 causing the valve actuating member 67 to be depressedby the bolt 78 passing down on the end 71 of the actuator 67. This willopen the valve 66 and allow water to flow from the inlet 62 into theoutlet 63 of the valve and up through the supply line 76 to thedischarge 77. It is to be particularly noted that the flow will bepositive and that no hammering will occur. When the water in the bowl 8]has reached the desired level (which may be determined by the positionof the weight 42 relative to the balance beam 39) the balance beam 39will be pushed down by weight of the water in the bowl 81 to theposition shown in FIG. 1 so that the valve actuator 67 will allow thevalve 66 to seat on the seat 60 and the water will be turned off. Thewater will be turned ofi smoothly and quietly and positively with noannoying water line hammer.

The valve shut off is unaffected by fluctuations in water pressure andit always shuts off with the same weight and thus the same height ofwater in the drinking bowl. It is to be particularly noted that if ananimal such as a horse pushes down on the drinking bowl the water willbe shut off rather than making it overflow. To clean the drinking bowlthe cover is removed by depressing the pin 26 and rotating the cover 13and the latch 29 may be removed to the locked position as shown in FIG.1 to hold the balance beam 39 in position as shown in closed. The bowlcan then be removed and emptied into a bucket or outside the stallthereby eliminating mess and even the hands of the operator need not getwet. The drinking bowl may be sterilized with a solution or byautoclaving if desired. It is also to be particularly noted that in theevent service becomes necessary all of the parts are accessible from thetop which allows easy maintenance and service.

Although the invention has been described with respect to the shownembodiments it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications maybe made therein which within the full intended scope as defined by theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An animal waterer comprising:

a housing member;

a balance beam pivotally supported from said housing so as to pivotabout a substantially horizontal axis;

said housing member.

4. A waterer according to claim 1 comprising means for adjusting theposition of said weight relative to said beam to adjust the momentcaused by said weight.

a drinking bowl supported on said balance beam on one side 5 5. Awaterer according to claim 1 comprising a heater Of Said aXiS P mountedin said housing for preventing fluid in said drinking a weight supportedon said balance beam on the other side b l from freezing.

of said axis of pivot; 6. An animal waterer comprising: a supply valvefor supplying fluid to said drinking bowl sup- 3 h i b ported from saidhousing and having a valve actuator en- 10 a b l b i ll orted from aidhousing so as gageable y sfild beam andactuflted y when the to pivotaboutasubstantially horizontal axis; balance beam moved y Sald Welght,Sald valve actuator a drinking bowl supported on said balance beam onone side being mounted on said other side of said axis of pivot and ofSaid axis f pivot; being Spring loaded to the closed Position Such thatit i a weight supported on said balance beam on the other side closedexcept when said balance beam depresses said 15 ofsaid axis ofpivot;Valve actuator; and a supply valve for supplying fluid to said drinkingbowl sup- 3 cover f f formed f a depresslon and an opemllg ported fromsaid housing and having a valve actuator enformled 531d depressl? deta(fhably on gageable by said beam and actuated thereby when the bousmgmember over Sald drmkmg bfJwl and balance beam is moved by said weight,said valve actuator mg w ava'labl? through the openmg formed m i beingmounted on said other side of said axis of pivot and depresslon Lvhcremcam mmbers are anachedd to g 'being spring loaded to the closed positionsuch that it is cove? mem cam engagmg me'fms on 5a! closed except whensaid balance beam depresses said housing member and engageable with saidcam members v 31 v e actuator and to Jom Said cover member. to housmgmember and a cover member formed with a depression and an opening latchmeans attached to said housing means and movable formed in saiddepression detachably mounted on said to a first position to lock saidcover member to said houshousing member over said drinking bowl and saiddrinking member and movable to a second position to allow ing bowlavailable through the opening formed in said said cover member to beremoved from said housing member depression and in which a beam latch ispivotally attached 2. A waterer according to claim 1 comprising fluidconduit to Sald lz g memberlan: m r to a first 8 2 to means attached tosaid valve and having an outlet for engage Sal 06 to Pj dischargingfluid into said drinking bowl. member and mova e to a secon position sot at it oes 3. A waterer according to claim 1 comprising motion limitnotengage Sald beam ing means mounted on said beam to limit its motionrelative to

1. An animal waterer comprising: a housing member; a balance beampivotally supported from said housing so as to pivot about asubstantially horizontal axis; a drinking bowl supported on said balancebeam on one side of said axis of pivot; a weight supported on saidbalance beam on the other side of said axis of pivot; a supply valve forsupplying fluid to said drinking bowl supported from said housing andhaving a valve actuator engageable by said beam and actuated therebywhen the balance beam is moved by said weight, said valve actuator beingmounted on said other side of said axis of pivot and being spring loadedto the closed position such that it is closed except when said balancebeam depresses said valve actuator; and a cover member formed with adepression and an opening formed in said depression detachably mountedon said housing member over said drinking bowl and said drinking bowlavailable through the opening formed in said depression wherein cammembers are attached to said cover member, cam engaging means mounted onsaid housing member and engageable with said cam members to join saidcover member to said housing member, and latch means attached to saidhousing means and movable to a first position to lock said cover memberto said housing member and movable to a second position to allow saidcover member to be removed from said housing member.
 2. A watereraccording to claim 1 comprising fluid conduit means attached to saidvalve and having an outlet for discharging fluid into said drinkingbowl.
 3. A waterer according to claim 1 comprising motion limiting meansmounted on said beam to limit its motion relative to said housingmember.
 4. A waterer according to claim 1 comprising means for adjustingthe position of said weight relative to said beam to adjust the momentcaused by said weight.
 5. A waterer according to claim 1 comprising aheater mounted in said housing for preventing fluid in said drinkingbowl from freezing.
 6. An animal waterer comprising: a housing member; abalance beam pivotally supported from said housing so as to pivot abouta substantially horizontal axis; a drinking bowl supported on saidbalance beam on one side of said axis of pivot; a weight supported onsaid bAlance beam on the other side of said axis of pivot; a supplyvalve for supplying fluid to said drinking bowl supported from saidhousing and having a valve actuator engageable by said beam and actuatedthereby when the balance beam is moved by said weight, said valveactuator being mounted on said other side of said axis of pivot andbeing spring loaded to the closed position such that it is closed exceptwhen said balance beam depresses said valve actuator; and a cover memberformed with a depression and an opening formed in said depressiondetachably mounted on said housing member over said drinking bowl andsaid drinking bowl available through the opening formed in saiddepression and in which a beam latch is pivotally attached to saidhousing member and movable to a first position to engage said beam tolock it relative to said housing member and movable to a second positionso that it does not engage said beam.